Electroplating - Tin/Lead (Solder) Plating Tank - Tin/Lead Plating Solution
Before handling and/or using any toxic and/or highly corrosive material, you must familiarize yourself with its safe handling procedures and analysis techniques.
If your solder plating tank has a volume of 10 gal (40 liters) or less, you might find it beneficial to mix your electrolyte from premixed components. These are mixed in a fixed ratios to make a ready-to-use plating bath. The electrolyte is maintained adding organic additives, 60/40 SolderPlate acid, tin concentrate and lead concentrate as indicated by analysis.
| Using Premixed Makeup Solutions | |
| Component | Quantity |
| Deionized water | 5.5 parts |
| 60/40 SolderPlate solution (concentrate) | 3.1 parts |
| 60/40 SolderPlate acid | 1.4 parts |
This bath is rated for continuous plating at 10 to 30 Amps per Square Foot (ASF). 20 ASF is the recommended operating point for PCB applications. | |
If the volume of your tank exceeds 10 gallons, you will probably be better off buying the makeup components in bulk and mixing your bath from scratch. This is especially true if you are setting up a PCB prototyping shop where the cost per board needs to be well controlled.
| Bulk Tin/Lead Electrolyte Recipe | |
| Component | Concentration by volume |
| Deionized (or distilled) water | 40.0% |
| 60/40 SolderPlate acid | 14.0% |
| 60/40 SolderPlate tin concentrate (120 g/l tin metal)* | 13.3% |
| 60/40 SolderPlate lead concentrate (450 g/l lead metal)* | 2.4% |
| 60/40 SolderPlate PC additive | 10.0% |
| 60/40 SolderPlate PC carrier | 5.0% |
| Deionized (or distilled) water | dilute to final volume |
This bath is rated for continuous plating at 10 to 30 Amps per Square Foot (ASF). 20 ASF is the recommended operating point for PCB applications. |
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included by permission of Think & Tinker, Ltd copyright 1986 to 2010